No dissent in Congress, HDK govt will rule for 5 years: Siddaramaiah

He said he had spoken to MLAs, M B Patil, B C Patil, Sangamesh, S R Patil, Sudhakar and others and none of them were unhappy.

Former CM Siddaramaiah at a Congress workers’ meeting in Mysuru on Tuesday.

Mysuru: Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claimed here on Tuesday that there were no disgruntled Congress MLAs and there was no threat to the coalition government in the state.

Speaking to reporters, he said he had spoken to MLAs, M B Patil, B C Patil, Sangamesh, S R Patil, Sudhakar and others and none of them were unhappy. “No one will go with the BJP. All those attempts have failed. The coalition government will complete its five year term,” he maintained.

Asked about the next KPCC president, he said he had not yet spoken to Congress president, Rahul Gandhi about it. Mr Siddaramaiah, who was on his first visit to his hometown of Mysuru after the assembly poll, said he had accepted the people's verdict in Chamundeshwari, where he was defeated. “I do not want to analyse it. This result may have shocked the media, but not me,” he added

On CM H D Kumaraswamy's statement that he was shocked at the corruption in Vidhana Soudha, he said, "I don't know. If he has seen it, let him stop it. " While he seemed to be putting up a brave front, the elections have clearly taken a toll on him as he revealed that after the first coordination committee meeting on Thursday, he planned to go to Dharmasthala for 12 days for some naturopathy.

Earlier, addressing Congress party workers and voters of Varuna constituency to thank them for electing his son, Dr Yathindra, he said victory and defeat must be accepted in a democracy. “I accept the mandate of the people. This is not the first time I have lost. I have never been excited by victory or depressed by defeat. But what pains me is that despite doing so much good work people did not meet our expectations. I, however, have the satisfaction of having served the people honestly. I provided a scam- free, stable government for five years," he added.

In a reference to the Lingayat controversy, he insisted that he had not tried to divide the Hindu community and only forwarded a demand for minority status from the community to the Centre.

Mr Siddaramaiah asserted that he stood by what he had said before and would not contest elections again. "But I will support those who have supported me," he assured.

Urging the Congress workers not to lose heart, he advised them to talk about good work done by the last government and make sure that the BJP didn't come to power again in the country.